ViperAFK, you can still add a repository for it (which I believe the Chrome deb on Google's website does automatically). While I couldn't find a Chrome PPA on launchpad.net, just the Chromium one, I did find this mention of an official Chrome repository for Ubuntu. I can confirm that it works on Debian Wheezy, which probably means that it works on virtually every Debian based distribution.

Also, I didn't know about those differences between Chrome and Chromium. I knew that differences exist, I just didn't know what they were. I use Chromium exclusively as a backup browser because I much prefer the customization of Firefox (Iceweasel if you really want to get technical).

ViperAFK, you can still add a repository for it (which I believe the Chrome deb on Google's website does automatically). While I couldn't find a Chrome PPA on launchpad.net, just the Chromium one, I did find this mention of an official Chrome repository for Ubuntu. I can confirm that it works on Debian Wheezy, which probably means that it works on virtually every Debian based distribution.

Downloading the official .deb (or rpm if you are on fedora or suse) from google and installing it automatically does indeed add the official chrome repo for you, so its kept up to date automatically. Once you install it since it adds that repo you can also easily change channels by doing sudo apt-get install google-chrome-beta or sudo apt-get install google-chrome dev.

I find this much easier than using chromium + ppa's... Chromes repo is also kept up to date in a very timely manner since its right from google. This is one instance where going out and downloading a deb is better, but I agree for the most part just sticking to the software center is the best way to go.

my ubuntu servers me well its a nice thing to play around with ... I use it for web dev, java, forensics(ish), remote management and i try to C# on it but im still failing ... either way its an awesome OS and you just need to find the flavor for you

Well, I have Mint installed in a VMWare Box. Linux is very difficult to install driver or software on. I had to Google command line commends to ge the nVidia drivers and even that failed somehow because I am now stuck on 640 X 480. I also downloaded Chrome and I found out you can't just double click on a downloaded file to install it. It still seems very advanced and only for the very computer savvy, nowhere near ready for prime time.

Does VMWare emulate an NVidia card? You probably don't want to install regular video card drivers in a virtual machine. That's irrelevant of the OS being ran there. I only know Virtual Box, but VMWare may have something akin to VBox's guest additions - essentially a bunch of drivers for the virtual machine. Look into that. Or just switch to Virtual Box, it's free and runs Linux great.

As for installing software, you don't necessarily need to learn console commands. Open the package manager, search for your app there, check the box, click apply and you're good to go. The process is a bit painful to learn at first but it is very convenient, when it works. It's actually a better installation experience than on Windows where every product has a different download page with potentially many fake download buttons, often includes unwanted software and all use different installers. Here it's just one UI for all apps. The problem is that when it doesn't have the app you're looking for, or only has an outdated version of it, well then your world really starts to suck.

Although I'm just guessing based on the information you gave, I can probably tell you what your problem is: you are approaching your Mint install as if it were Windows. In Linux, you very rarely want to download software directly from the vendor's website. For example, if I wanted to install the proprietary nVidia driver in Ubuntu, I would install it from the repository using a command like sudo apt-get install nvidia-current instead of downloading the binary blob from nvidia.com. Similarly, instead of downloading and installing Chrome directly from www.google.com/chrome, I would use sudo apt-get install chromium-current.

As a new user, however, its very unlikely that you prefer typing commands into terminal as I do. Unfortunately, that is something that often turns off new users and gives them the impression that Linux distros are difficult to use. That's not the case at all; its just that more experienced users often prefer CLI to GUI (and terminal commands are far easier and more concise to give over the Internet). In Ubuntu (and probably Mint as well since its Ubuntu based), you can easily search and install software using the Software Center. If you prefer a more powerful graphical interface to the repository, you can also install Synaptic Package Manager and use that instead of, or in addition to, Software Center.

While it may take a little while to get used to, installing software from the repository has several benefits. First, its easy. You don't need to go hunting for software or worry about downloading download.com's download manager just to get your programs. Second, updates are centralized. Instead of needing to use the updaters built into each piece of software you can merely update the repository (which is done automatically once every other day in Ubuntu by default) and install updates. Third, security and program integration are managed by your distribution. Any piece of software in the repository is theoretically guaranteed by the maintainers of your distribution to be secure and work properly with your system. Its a different way of thinking, but it works well (in my opinion much better than the traditional Windows approach) once you adjust to it.

Thanks for this great post. It sounds like I should try Ubuntu, especially since my Linux mint seems to be all messed up.

You can use whatever you want to use. Vmware however does not need Nvidia drivers to set up your video. It might need the tools.I have Ubuntu Ultimate 12.04 set up in vmware because some of the graphics did not work in VirtualBox and I have it running at my native 1920x1200 screen resolution without any Nvidia drivers at all.I do have the Vmware tools installed through.

Usually setting Linux up in a VM is a lot easier than setting it up natively, because Windows does the hardware for you and the virtual machine translates them to Linux. I have been able to print from Linux just by setting up the printer.I have used many USB devices because they hook up to Windows and the VM translates them to Linux. It just works better for me anyway.

Usually setting Linux up in a VM is a lot easier than setting it up natively, because Windows does the hardware for you and the virtual machine translates them to Linux. I have been able to print from Linux just by setting up the printer.I have used many USB devices because they hook up to Windows and the VM translates them to Linux. It just works better for me anyway.

Linux used to be like this but is so much different now

for example i have Fedora

I plugged in my Canon MP170 and it installed automatically

downloading files and double clicking them will do the same as window, if it know what program to use it will use it if it does not it will ask you what program you want to use

the installation was straightforward and it does everything itself (unless your dual booting then you need to tell it where to install

So many people have used linux 5 yrs or so ago and had a bad experience and just give up with it

Its a new system to use you need to learn how to use it the same as you would with anything new

I set up Linux mint fine in Vmware 8.x with no problems on resolution. Now I can't share the clipboard if I don't install the vmware tools in Linux Mint. I downloaded Linux Mint 14 64-bit mate version directly from the website.
I downloaded the ISO and installed it into a VMware disk and it works great. I am now at 1920x1200 widescreen full screen resolution and I just went into the display settings and set the resolution using the GUI, just like you would on Windows and it works great.

downloading files and double clicking them will do the same as window, if it know what program to use it will use it if it does not it will ask you what program you want to use

the installation was straightforward and it does everything itself (unless your dual booting then you need to tell it where to install

So many people have used linux 5 yrs or so ago and had a bad experience and just give up with it

Its a new system to use you need to learn how to use it the same as you would with anything new

Yeah, I know it's evolved over time, however he doesn't really have to install any video drivers himself because it's all done by the VM software. Too many people think Windows vs Linux, that is crap. Maybe for somethings you have to do that, but I can run both at the same time.

In fact, you can run MacOS X 10.8, any flavor of Linux and Windows all at the same time if you have enough ram for the VM process. He has 24 Gigs, I only have 16 and I want 32 for a ramdisk. Putting a VM into a ramdisk and writing back to an SSD when you are done would be awesome!

If I want to experiment, I can download a flavor of Linux in my VM and get started right away. I don't have to deal with much when it comes to drivers at all.

Well, I got Chrome installed but not my latest nVidia drivers. I download them and can't just double click to install them. I found some instructions online about using command line to install from a repo but all that did is mess up the system and now it won't do anything other than 640 X 480. Why would vNvdia even have Linux drivers for download if you can't install them?

Well, I got Chrome installed but not my latest nVidia drivers. I download them and can't just double click to install them. I found some instructions online about using command line to install from a repo but all that did is mess up the system and now it won't do anything other than 640 X 480. Why would vNvdia even have Linux drivers for download if you can't install them?

I'll try Ubuntu when I get home, maybe it'll be better..

In the latest linux mint 14 and ubuntu 12.10 to install the nvidia drivers there is an inbuilt GUI in "Software Sources". Its just a few clicks and it automatically installs them:

In older ubuntu/mint versions its a separate application called additional drivers. (It was a lot more discoverable when it was, I don't know why they decided to move it into the somewhat obscure sounding "software sources", its not a surprise you didn't think to look there) This screenshot is from my linux mint 14 system. Its in the same place in ubuntu 12.10:

The above is the proper way to install nvidia drivers on ubuntu and most ubuntu based distros. The driver on nvidia's site is a .run file which you can't just double click and install. The only files you can double click and install on ubuntu are .deb files. (instead you need to open the terminal, cd to the folder with the .run file and do: sudo ./nvidia-installer-filename-here.) But you should never need to install the driver this way in ubuntu.

I'm not sure exactly what commandline instructions you previously used, but maybe they messed something up.

Using Ubuntu 12.10 here. Easy to use, fast, very customisable (as are all Linux distros), and lots of great free software available. I really like the dash as well - it's a hub for everything.

Windows had worse releases than Windows 8 and kept its predominance just fine.

Only by virtue of the oem monopoly Microsoft has. That's how Windows gets installed on millions of PCs. Something different is happening this time though. Microsoft is burning its bridges by competing directly with its oems. I foresee more PCs with Linux preinstalled on the horizon. And once users realise that they don't need Microsoft or Windows anymore, which is already happening in the mobile market, then the Windows monopoly will be broken.

If Windows 8 doesn't succeed, people will just stay with Windows 7 for the next few years, there's no "shift to Linux", never was, never will be (at least in the foreseeable future).

Anyone buying a new PC doesn't have the option of "staying with Windows 7". For them, Windows 8 will be an unpleasant shock to the system, one I'm willing to bet will be too much for them to take, and they'll end returning it. The success of Windows 8 lies in the hands of consumers buying new PCs, not power users who can build their own PCs and install whatever they like.

So oems have a real opportunity here to break their addiction to Microsoft and Windows, and open up the market to real competition. The next six months should be interesting.

I think Ubuntu is in a good position to take the preinstalled market by storm. Especially now that companies like Valve are really investing in the Linux ecosystem.